Tales of Flowerbud
by xPancakes
Summary: Even a small village like Flowerbud can be filled with stories. There are tales of romance, hardships, new beginnings, old friends, the good, and the bad. Told from the perspectives of all the Flowerbud villagers. 100 themes challenge. Rated T to be safe.
1. Introduction

**1\. Introduction**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon**

-x-x-x-

All Theodore ever wanted was to be a beloved mayor. Dreams of what could be for Flowerbud Village were always dancing through his head. There was never a festival that had to be canceled from a lack of goods, and all of them were the most joyous occasions. Everyone was always thrilled to live there.

Oh but things weren't quite as Theodore had created them to be in his head. To him the town was always falling short of its potential. The handful of villagers that had established themselves had their fair share of prosperity, but it was never quite enough to really put the town on the map. Theodore knew that there was so much that his village was capable of, especially since there was such a surplus of space.

What was there to do though? Theodore had been brainstorming for weeks, months on what he could do to expand his town. Goddess, he knew he would have a stroke of genius eventually, yet eventually was taking so much time. A successful idea wouldn't happen overnight, obviously. There was nothing. Theodore couldn't really place one fantastic, refreshing idea.

"If Maria were here she could help me," Theodore sighed. Even his own daughter had to leave town. Sure she left in order to expand her own horizons, promising she'd be back after she was done with schooling. Still, he was so alone without her.

It was challenging not having Maria around. It was hard to not be able to have the town he envisioned on his daily walks. Theodore knew he wanted a lot. He couldn't help it. Flowerbud Village was such a great place to be, to live.

During his walk through town that evening, Theodore looked around and imagined how all the plots of land could be filled. He wanted Maria to have whatever she wanted near one of the smaller beachfronts. He was pretty sure she would want to open up a library, which might not be best across from the ocean, but at least she would also be close to the square in town.

There were some plots that would be so good for something like an orchard. Others were close enough to the hustle and bustle of town to be shops or other businesses. It would be amazing to think about how there could be people walking through this part of town all the time. To have people resting from shopping in the town square.

Finally, there was a lot of land Theodore thought would be great for farms. The farms and ranches in the village were all doing really well. Theodore was certain that more farms would be best for his town. If only he could get outsiders to see that. If only there was a way to invite people to become farmers in town. The extra animal products and produce would provide even more opportunities for the town.

"Maybe I can invite people to farm here," Theodore said. He was looking at a piece of land by the river. There was some work that needed to be done. Trees cleared, rocks moved, weeds to pick. Still this could be a great place for growing crops, maybe raising chickens.

-x-

"Now what should I call it?" Theodore pondered aloud.

It had taken all night of wonder to really start get the words for the invitation. The next morning, Theodore had actually gotten the words down on paper. An enticing name was all the work left for this project. It needed to be a good one.

Theodore was feeling so much as he was making this happen. This action filled him to the brim with so many conflicting emotions. Excitement. Anxiety. Happiness. Fear of failure. Longing. Peace. This project was everything. He was finally _doing_ something.

 _Exciting Ranch Plan_ was what Theodore ended up scrawling on the top of the form. So the name wasn't the best, but he wasn't Maria. Still, he was sure she would be proud.

The time had come to get the form to the closest city.

-x-

Almost a whole season had passed since Theodore had left the Exciting Ranch Plan flyer at the train station in the city. In fact, Theodore had almost completely forgotten about it. The plan had been pretty farfetched anyways. At least he had tried.

Spring was nearing and Flowerbud looked beautiful in the morning. The snow was almost all melted and flowers were starting to poke up around town, weeds too. Still, Theodore thought even the weeds looked beautiful with the sun hitting whatever water was adorning the plant.

"Good morning, Flowerbud," Theodore mumbled.

It was time to check the mail. The day and work had begun. There were things to be done as soon as possible. Hank had requested Theodore's presence.

As Theodore looked through his mail, he knew that Hank would have to wait. Amongst some tedious mail and different correspondence with villagers was not one but two responses to the Exciting Ranch Plan. One letter was from someone named Jack, a good farming name. The other was from a woman named Tina. This was it. There was more about to happen in Flowerbud Village.

-x-x-x-x-


	2. Complicated

**2\. Complicated – Joe and Kurt**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

-x-x-x-x-

"Did you mean to cut those legs so weird?"

"Hm?" Joe looked away from the work he hadn't really been focusing on.

Now that Kurt had asked, Joe saw the problem with his handy work. The chair legs appeared to be of different lengths. Joe flipped the chair so would be standing by itself. There didn't seem to be a single leg that was perfectly even in length. Woody would be completely displeased with how Joe had been so careless as to mess up the measuring and cutting process. Joe had been polishing the chair up, so he had plenty of chances to catch the problem earlier in the creation process.

"Looks like someone could really get some entertainment out of this think, huh?" Joe joked, scratching his head. This was classic Joe material.

"It looks like you're pulling influence from your early work," Kurt pointed out. There was a bit of bite to the words. Kurt didn't want to put his brother down, but he did want to make sure Joe was the best carpenter he could be.

Joe looked from his brother to his project. He knew Kurt was right about his sloppy work, but he hadn't planned on messing up so much.

"What's the ruckus over here?" Woody asked. He had moved from his station so swiftly that the brothers hadn't noticed him. "That looks like a chair with some character, Joe."

"Uh yeah," Joe looked at the floor feeling like he had really screwed up. "Sorry, sir."

"What's the meaning of this?" Woody's voice remained calm, stoic. The old man was incredibly patient after working with lumber his whole life.

Joe could feel Kurt's eyes on him, begging the same question. The bandana clad man sighed and looked up in order to look his boss straight in the eye.

"There is a party this afternoon for the two new farmers. I've been doing a lot of work helping set everything up, so I wasn't too focused. I'm sorry, Woody," Joe explained the situation a bit quickly. The party had been so exciting. New people were exciting.

Woody was quiet a moment as he considered this. "Okay, boy, you can go get on with your party."

Neither of the boys was terribly surprised. Woody was a hardworking man, but he always knew that breaks were necessary. He had to teach his apprentices that in order to have their best work, they had to be in the right mind.

"You'll be working on your new project of making a large cabinet for Spring Farm starting tomorrow," Woody announced. "Go enjoy the party today. Have fun."

"Yes!" Joe exclaimed.

Woody chuckled and walked to the home section of the shop. The phone was ringing and there was a lunch to be prepared.

"Okay, bro," Joe looked to his brother. "The party starts at three. You don't have to worry about coming early and helping set up. Everything's covered."

Kurt was quiet for a moment. The smile began to fade from Joe's face the longer his brother took to respond.

"Joe, I don't know if I should go," Kurt admitted. "I'm really not feeling a party. Besides the new year was just a few days ago."

"Kuuuurt," Joe whined. "Jack was the only one who got to go the New Year's celebration. Tina came later on that day."

Without another word, Kurt looked down at his own project. He had been making sketches of different things he wanted to build. Dimensions scribbled by every line. Each piece of work contained so much detail, contained so much of what Kurt could see in his head.

"Why do you insist on being so complicated?" Joe asked throwing his hands in the air. Exasperated.

There was no replay from Kurt, mainly because he honestly had no clue how to respond to his brother. However, there was a reply from Joe. Stomping feet. Slamming doors.

-x-

About half an hour passed after Joe had left. The birdhouse style clock was marked the passing time in such a slow manner. Each tick left Kurt feeling guiltier and guiltier.

Did he really make things so complicated? Kurt thought he was a pretty simple guy. Maybe there was a bit of a challenge involved in getting him to break out of his shell. That wasn't complication though.

"Still here?" Woody asked drawing Kurt out of his thoughts and away from his project.

"Yeah."

"Might as well make yourself useful then," Woody handed Kurt a delivery sheet.

Many of the tasks had already been ticked off. There was only one delivery Kurt would have to make.

-x-

The town square was starting to fill up as villagers made their way to the party. Everyone was excited to really welcome the new farmers to town. Jack and Tina seemed to really enjoy all the attention and the farming manuals they were receiving.

There was ease in finding Joe. His starry bandana and loud laugh always made the young carpenter easy to spot in a crowd. Kurt made his way over to his brother before hoping his arrival would be a pleasant surprise.

"Hey."

Joe turned away from Ellen and Tina. His smile vanished, replaced by confusion.

"What is that doing here?" Joe asked looking slightly embarrassed.

"Sign here please," Kurt handed his brother the delivery form. He set the crooked chair his brother had made that day between them.

"Woody sure knows how to clear up any arguments," Joey said as he signed the delivery noticed.

"He sure knows how to clear up any complications," Kurt replied a small smile on his face.

"Well, Kurt," Joe smiled back. "Tina has began growing crops on the River Bud property. She's thinking she'll be able to put in a chicken coop in the next couple weeks."

"Sounds good."

"And Jack is talking with Ann about mining. He's been in the caves a lot since he's been here."

That was obviously Kurt's cue to go and talk about his hobby with Ann and the new farmer. He and Jack had talked a couple of times about gathering gems. Perhaps he had gotten more room in his rucksack by now.

"Wait," Tina piped in before Kurt could walk away.

Joe and Kurt looked at the pigtailed farmer. She smiled and pointed to Joe's chair.

"Is that for sale?" She asked.

-x-x-x-x-


	3. Making History

**3\. Making History – Jamie**

 **A/N: I know chapter two exceeded the length of a normal drabble. I'll avoid doing that in the future, unless I don't know what to cut or it has been a long time since I updated. I do not own Harvest Moon.**

-x-x-x-x-

There was a lot of work in running a farm. Lists of chores were always growing. Clean the barn. Restock the chicken feed. Weed. Water. Milk. Shear. To be a farmer not only required commitment but also taking pride and joy in the constant work.

To the townsfolk, there was no doubt that Jamie was proud and committed in her line of work, though she didn't appear to be quite joyous. In fact, most villagers didn't see much emotion from Jamie at all. Jamie knew that the no one would deny that she was a hard worker, so it didn't matter to her that everyone didn't see just how much she loved being a farmer.

Jamie knew. Her ranch knew. That was enough for her.

When Jamie watered and weeded her garden, she would tell her plants the stories of the Harvest Goddess. There were fairytales, anthropological studies, myths, and what Jamie herself believed. By the way her plants grew, Jamie was sure her crops loved the Harvest Goddess as much as she did.

The animals knew of Jamie's love because she would sing to them as she brushed them. When she milked her cows, she would tell them about the sea. She would gather weeds as treats for her chickens. The animals loved Jamie and her tenderness.

What Jamie wanted from the townsfolk was a little warmth, and maybe then she would open up. It wasn't just Jamie who was distant. Perhaps she gave off a vibe that kept the villagers of Flower Bud away from her.

-x-

"Hey!"

When Jamie heard the voice, she was confused. Not many people had really come to visit Jamie Ranch since it had been opened. So Jamie had a feeling who had come by.

"How can I help you?" Jamie asked. She turned around to face Tina, the chubby cheeked new farmer. Jamie had been seeing a lot of her lately.

"I just wanted to give you this jam," Tina announced. She rummaged through her bag for a moment before pulling out a very berry jam.

Jamie never knew what to say to Tina. The new farmer had been so nice to Jamie, without knowing her at all. Tina had no clue what sort of person Jamie was, but she stopped by the ranch almost daily. This was the first time Tina had brought a gift with her.

"I heard that you like jam," Tina said before looking down, "Uhm, f-from Alex."

"Oh." Jamie hopped the fenced area of her animals to close the distance between her and Tina. Really, Jamie just wanted to take the jam so Tina would go.

Even though both of their hands were gloved, Jamie felt something when Tina handed oer the jar of jam. It was as though some kind of warmth was filling Jamie.

"Thanks," Jamie said, avoiding Tina's eyes.

"No problem," Tina replied.

The two were silent for a moment. Neither of them really knew what they should say to the other. Each of them looked away from the other, though Tina had attempted to meet Jamie's eyes.

"Anyways," Tina finally started. "I should get up to the mountain. I have to forage around before it gets too late."

"Yeah," Jamie mumbled as Tina chuckled.

"Bye, Jamie," Tina waved as she turned to jog away.

"Did I just ruin a good interaction?" Jamie asked Calvervtutrp.

The dog looked at her inquisitively. He seemed to be more interested in what Jamie was holding rather than what she was saying.

-x-

As Jamie thought about what she could do with the jam, she wondered about Tina. There were lots of uses for jam, and it really was a favorite of Jamie's. She just didn't know why Tina was working so hard to befriend her.

Tina and Jack were the talk of the town lately. Even though the new farmers were working hard to make money, they were spending time with the people of the village.

Honestly, it made Jamie kind of irritated to see how much the villagers were fawning over the new farmers. Alex and Tina got along well enough for Alex to talk about how much jam Jamie had eaten when she had her stay in the clinic. Never once had the townsfolk acted so friendly around Jamie.

Jamie had brought Flower Bud to life. Without her, the town would probably be nothing. Maybe Spring Farm and Blue Sky Ranch would exist, but they would be struggling to bring in any form of money.

It was then that Jamie realized. She was history. Maybe Jamie had made things better for the town, but that was in the past. Jack and Tina were new. Fresh. Appreciated. Jamie knew what she had done. And she was okay.


End file.
